Masks Could Become Part of Regular Flu Season Fighting Routine

Monday, June 28th, 2021 -- 1:00 PM

(WRN) Experts at UW Madison say we may be seeing masks for a long while, even as the COVID-19 pandemic is starting to get under control in the US.

Professor Ajay Sethi from the UW-Madison School of Health says the US may be joining other countries where mask use by those who are sick is much more commonplace. 

"There are already people today who are more likely to wear a mask or simply because they had the experience of the previous year of witnessing what the benefits can be."

"[We] may be folding mask use into ordinary cough etiquette that we already had before covid: to cough in your elbow, to wash your hands frequently, to keep your distance from others if you have symptoms."

"Mask use, consistently, every year will prevent the spread of things like influenza and I think that's not a bad thing to do particularly since influenza is a virus that is very dangerous for the elderly."

Sethi says basic efforts to prevent the spread of COVID lead to an almost non-existent flu season this winter, and effort credited both to simple social distancing and mask use. 

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